Not Dead
by TheEliteLabRatsLover
Summary: Barry hears about Oliver's return on the news and decides he has to see for himself if it's true. Flash 1x12, Arrow 3x12.


**Hello there, fellow fanfic lover.**

 **So, basically, last night I received this comment on my other story (Just One Win) requesting this. And I loved it so much that I woke up this morning and wrote it haha. So shout out to Dani9513! This can be set in the same universe as that story or not, doesn't matter too much. Also, I've never seen the first few seasons of Arrow, so I could be wrong on a few things.**

 **Disclaimer: I own no part of CW, unfortunately. Otherwise, there would be a ton more crossovers if I did.**

* * *

To say that Barry was having rough week would be, well.

An understatement.

This week would probably place in about the top seven worst weeks of his life.

And that was saying something.

He'd had quite a few awful weeks. But this week was different.

He had lost quite a few people in his life. God, he knew how traumatizing that could be. But he'd never really lost a friend. He'd lost Bette. But he really hadn't known her. Then again the same could be said about the one he was mourning now.

Felicity had called.

She was crying when he answered, and though he didn't know why, his heart had still dropped at the sound because he knew something had to have gone _horribly_ _wrong_.

And he had been right.

Apparently, Oliver had gotten in his head that he challenge Ra's Al Ghul - _Felicity had filled him in on just who he was_ \- to a sword fight.

And he had lost.

And now he was dead.

Barry still couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around it.

 _No, no, no, you just saw him, he couldn't possibly be_ _dead_ _. Remember? He was alive and fine and now-_

Now he's not.

 _-you live in Central City where it's sunny all the time. And your enemies get cute nicknames-_

He's dead. He's dead. And Barry is resisting the urge to run to Star City anyway in the naive hope that maybe Oliver wasn't really.

 _\- I live in a city where my best friend was murdered-_

Then again Oliver always said Barry was a bit naive.

 _-where a woman I love was shot full of arrows and sent tumbling over a rooftop-_

Barry was starting to get what Oliver meant by Star City being starkly different from Central City.

 _-where my mother was murdered right in front of me, so before you-_

Because despite all of the people Barry had lost, he'd never really imagined how simple it would be for his best friends to be taken away so abruptly.

 _My mother was murdered right in front of me, too._

Or maybe, he never really wanted to imagine it.

And now a man he's admired, a hero he's looked up to, _a friend_ was gone. And there was absolutely nothing he could do. Joe tried his best to understand, but he never really liked the man. Thought he was a criminal.

 _It was like his father all over again-_

Cisco and Caitlin tried, too, but they didn't know Oliver like he did. He was merely an acquaintance. Someone to team up with. A legend to them, almost. _Infallible_. Not a friend.

Not _their_ friend.

And Iris, well, the only thing she knew was that Barry was going through something. But she had no idea what. And he couldn't tell her. And that was _hard._ Really, the only people who would understand would be Oliver's friends.

Felicity, Dig, Roy, Laurel-

But they were grieving. How could Barry come in and ask to be apart of that? He barely knew the man in their eyes. They wouldn't get the connection they shared despite the small time they had known each other.

 _Though it was nine months longer than Barry always thinks-_

So, he was alone. Which wasn't that abnormal, he supposes. No one has ever really understood his trauma.

 _Except Oliver, Oliver always did-_

So he does what he has to to get through it. He patrols Central City and does his best to protect the one thing he can.

And if it means sometimes he patrols in Star City, too-

Well, no one ever comments on it.

* * *

It had been a month.

A month since he'd learned about the fate of Star City's vigilante.

A month to mourn the loss of a friend.

And honestly, he hadn't gotten much better at accepting the loss. Perhaps just better at suppressing the pain.

And then he saw it.

He was in STAR Labs with Cisco, Caitlin and Dr. Wells when the news had come on.

 _Return of the Star City's vigilante._

It had read.

And that was how he found himself having to lean on the counter, shock seeping into his bones.

"Oh my God..." Came the quiet voice beside him that he knew belonged to Caitlin.

"Oh, hell yeah! I knew he was alive!" Exclaimed Cisco from beside him with a howl of laughter that was simply from joy. But Barry couldn't even process it.

 _How could he be- he was just, he was dead, he can't be-_

When he looked up again, he made eye contact with Dr. Wells. He was staring at Barry, with a small, closed smile. He nodded once, discreetly, and that was all Barry needed to prompt him.

With a rush of speed and a rustle of papers, he found himself out on the streets heading towards Star City. He wasn't even aware of his heavy footsteps colliding with the ground or how his heartbeat seemed to match it. He hadn't even taken the time to change into the Flash suit.

He was barely aware he was even moving.

He just needed to _know_ , needed to know that Ollie was okay, that he was alive and not dead-

 _Not dead._

A small part of him had been hoping all along.

Oliver had always said he was naive.

But maybe now his hopes weren't in vain. And that's what he needed to know.

He eventually made it to Star City and found himself standing in front of Verdant. And if he maybe stumbled and ran into a few objects on his way here, well, no one would comment.

Just like how no one in Star City would comment on the streaks of orange lightning racing through the streets.

After all, it was no longer an uncommon occurrence here.

He heaved a breath, hoping that Oliver would be in Verdant, but hoping even more that Oliver was simply _alive_.

 _Not dead, not dead-_

He was in the bunker in point five seconds; possibly a new record.

And that's when he saw it. That's when he saw _him._

"...Ollie?"

* * *

Oliver didn't really know how to process everything that was happening.

He was glad to be home.

 _God, he was so beyond glad._

But at the same time, he wished he would never have come back. Because really it seemed as if he only brought pain with him wherever he went. So after his talk with Felicity, he'd returned to the bunker in search of some solitude. Really, he wasn't quite sure what he needed.

He'd only been down there a minute, barely any time to do _anything_ but simply stand there, when a voice from behind nearly made him jump.

"...Ollie?" Oliver immediately turned at the soft voice and barely had anytime to prepare himself before suddenly Barry had sped across the room, stumbling into Oliver and embracing him in quite possibly a bone crushing hug. Oliver immediately stiffened at the contact, pushing down his fight or flight - _though now he was fairly certain fight was his only instinct_ \- instincts.

"Barry, wha-" But Oliver stopped himself when he heard the hitched breathing come from the younger man. Oliver had no clue what to do or even what was happening. But fortunately, Barry acted before Oliver had the chance to. He pulled back, one hand on Oliver's shoulder almost as if he was grounding himself.

 _Or maybe to reassure himself this was real-_

The first thing Oliver noticed were the tears in Barry's eyes.

"I thought you were dead, they said-they said that you were dead but you're not, not dead. _Not dead_ -"

"Hey, Barry, _breathe_ ," Oliver commanded softly but sternly as he guided him to the nearest chair. He looked as if he had just ran a marathon.

 _If he ran all this way from Central City, he pretty much had._

Barry inhaled a few deep breaths, never letting go of Oliver's wrist of the hand he'd used to guide him. Oliver waited a few moments, before speaking with a frown. "Are you okay?" Barry merely huffed out a breathy laugh.

"Am _I_ okay? Really." Barry shook his head, almost in amusement before the expression fell so suddenly it nearly confused Oliver. "I thought you were dead." He declared, brows furrowing as if just remembering something. Oliver sighed.

"It's...complicated." He put it simply, and Barry closed his eyes as he grimaced; rubbing a hand over his face.

"Only you would come back from the dead for a month and explain it away with two words."

"Barry...what are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, just wanted to see if the news was right and my friend who was presumably dead for a month was actually alive or if it was simply my imagination. You know, how it is," Oliver frowned.

"No, Barry, I-" He paused, confused. "I don't know how it is."

"Yeah, _exactly_." Barry mumbled. "Just, can you call or _something_ before you do something so reckless and stupid? I mean, come on, maybe I can help, or at least prevent-" He stopped on that word, and Oliver watched as a sad, almost sour look crossed his face. Oliver merely raised his eyebrows at the statement and Barry sighed.

"I know, it's not really plausible given our...profession? But Oliver, I can't-" A sense of helplessness entered the younger man's voice and Oliver's nearly visibly winced at the amount of emotion rolling off of Barry as he looked up. "I can't lose you, too."

"Barry, you're not going to lose me." It was a lie and they both knew it. There were no assurances made in this business; their lives were at stake every moment of the day.

"Really." Barry deadpanned as he stood up, and it was such a stark contrast to only a minute before that Oliver only blinked. "You just returned from being presumably dead for a _month_ , Ollie, and I believed you were dead. I mean, everyone did. And I just found out that you actually weren't, but-"

"I can assure you that I'm not dead, Barry." Oliver cut him off. Barry sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess so," He said quietly with a humorless chuckle, rubbing his forehead. "It's been a long month." Oliver huffed in agreement.

"You're telling me." He took this moment to really look at the younger man in front of him, and observed just how weary he looked. The tension in his shoulders was undeniable, and the darkness surrounding his eyes were a contrast against his usually bright eyes. "Are you really alright?" Barry snorted.

"Seriously? You're asking me that?" He shrugged. "Yeah, I am." Barry stated, though without conviction. It was almost as if he was unsure of it himself. "I'll go now. I just wanted to make sure it was true," Barry smiled, and Oliver felt a tug at his own lips.

"It's true," He declared and Barry nodded, still a bit dazed. "Do you need a ride back to Central City? I'm sure something can be arranged-" He tried to offer but Barry waved it off.

"I can make it." He said, simply. He looked back at Oliver, and he noticed the way Barry's fingers twitched as if he wanted to reach out just once more - _wanting to make sure this really was reality and not some twisted dream_ \- before he inhaled deeply and saluted once; speeding off with a blast of wind.

Oliver sank into the chair just vacated, and closed his eyes. Barry wasn't kidding.

It really had been a long month.

But they would go on with their lives in the best way they knew how to. Fighting for what's right and protecting their own. Even if it meant a greater sacrifice. WHich quite often it did.

And if sometimes Barry would show up in the middle of the night, in the throes of a nightmare, needing assurance that Oliver was in fact, still alive, he wouldn't say anything about it.

And if one time while in the bunker, Oliver would see a segment on the news about the Flash being spotted in Star City multiple times during the past month-

Well, no one would comment on that either.

* * *

 **Stay awesome, my lovelies! I shall be back :)**


End file.
